Onatxan's Tale
by jelvinjs7
Summary: The untold story of a Na'vi in the Omatikaya clan who was born of both worlds, and grew up in the families of both sides in the war, the Time of Great Sorrow. The tale of this man trying to understand his own culture, while fighting to maintain peace between his two homes.
1. Dictionary of Na'vi Words

Being a story that takes place on Pandora, it's particularly necessary to utilize words from the Na'vi language. I have been studying the language since March of 2012, and here I've included a list of words that are used in the story. If you feel it may be easier to get a basic understanding of the language (which it will), then I highly recommend you go to the website Learn Na'vi. I will not included grammar or much morphology in this list, so there are words that come up that aren't fully explained here (for example, in Chapter 1 I use "leiu", which is the verb "lu" (to be) with the infix ei, giving it a positive mood).

This page will get updated as the story progresses to include more words, so check back every now and then.

**DICTIONARY:**

"skxawng" — moron

"nga" — you

"oe" — I

"unil" — dream

"lu" — to be

"eyktan" — leader


	2. Chapter 1

When I first heard about the skxawng that Neytiri had brought to the clan, I laughed. A Na'vi that was more of a skxawng than I am? That's impossible! I am eyktanä ayskxawng—king of the morons.

Turns out that he wasn't a Na'vi, but a dream-walker—a Skyperson in the body of a Na'vi. His name was "Jake Sully". Apparently he was a warrior back on Earth, claiming to be part of the "Jarhead Clan". I laughed my tail off when Neytiri told me that. She gave me an odd look, but I just ignored her. It's the kind of joke you can only fully appreciate if you have lived with the Skypeople as well as the Omatikaya. It's times like these where I can proudly say to Neytiri, "Nga leiu skxawng!"

I was resting in my hammock when Neytiri told me about Jake. I'd spent most of the night trying to study and improve on my Na'vi, so I was very tired. After she told me the story of how she and Jake met—Jake was getting attacked by viperwolves, Neytiri saw an atokorina', she saved him and took him to the clan, and now she's his new teacher of the Omatikaya's ways—I got very excited. Ever since Eytukan cut the ties with the Skypeople, I've barely been able to visit my friends working with the RDA down at Hell's Gate. Getting to visit someone that works for them and is from Earth would be awesome.

Neytiri didn't seem to like Jake, but I found him to be a pretty interesting character. Apparently in his real body, he has to use a wheelchair because he lost usage of his legs in a war back down on Earth. He also wasn't supposed to come to Pandora in the first place. The only reason he was here was because his brother Tom was scheduled to come since he was a scientist, but Tom died. Since Jake and Tom are twins, Jake could use Tom's avatar.

Another reason I liked the thought of Jake being in the community is that I finally wouldn't be the only one who failed to understand the culture and language and stuff. Only problem is, _he_ has an excuse—it's not _his_ people.


	3. Chapter 2

When I met Jake, I wasn't sure what to expect. A soldier from Earth without a clue as to what he's doing, that got lost from the rest of his group, and chased by a thanator into the clan? Should be… interesting.

He was very interested in me and my complex history. We first met at the clan's dinner the following night.

"Seriously?" he laughed. "Doctor _Grace Augustine_ raised you as a parent?"

"Yes. So did Eytukan. It was sort of like having divorced parents; I'd spend about 30 days living with the Skypeople, and 30 with the Omatikaya."

"Wow. I just… can't imagine Grace as a parent."

"Well, you know how she used to run that school to teach the Na'vi English? It was more like that. She was actually very caring and nice. But to me she was more like that teacher that you're very close with rather than a parent."

"Interesting. So, you are like fluent in Na'vi and English? And you can act like a human or a Na'vi?"

"You'd think so," I said. "Obviously, " I continued, looking at my non-human body, "I couldn't act like a human that well, though if I had a human avatar—oh wow. I might have a left pinky! and no right pinky!—then I could fit in pretty well. As for language, that's the odd thing. I actually really suck at speaking Na'vi. I'm not sure why, but the language is just really hard for me. Though I'm improving. My main problem is that I'm not really fluent, and I have a very limited vocabulary."

"Wow. So, it's sort of like a second language for you, and English is your first?"

"Pretty much. I tend to rely on my human instincts than my predominant Na'vi. Interestingly, I've been naturally learning both Na'vi and English, and a few years ago I decided to start learning Spanish. Yet I can still understand that more than my 'native' language!"

"You know what I think?" he said, munching on a piece of fruit. "I think that English is an easier language—obviously—so you could pick up on it much faster. And from that it was easier to understand human culture and life than that of the Na'vi. So when Eytukan tried teaching you, it just made a lot less sense than English."

"Makes sense," I said thoughtfully. "You know, that's why my family name is 'skxawng'. Because I acted more human than Na'vi. The clan would normally view this as an act of idiocy, but some people started calling me that as a joke. I didn't really care. Eventually, I figured that'd make a good family name, and since I didn't already have one, I should use it."

"What'd people call you before hand?"

"Just Onatxan. Sometimes people called me Jonathan, but that was rare. Grace would do it when she was mad at me, and my friends would do that to piss me off."

"Charming."

"Well, that's life for you, ain't it? And I would know, I'm the son of it!" I said with a grin.

"If you say so," Jake chuckled.

We continued eating, and suddenly Jake's eyes lit up.

"Hey, you could try learning with me!" He suggested. "Sort of like a classroom, and studying with a fresh start might help improve your fluency."

"Hmmmmm," I pondered, then grinned. "Oeru sunu."

"You know I have no clue what that means, right?"

"Sorry. It basically means 'I like that idea'. That might actually work. And Neytiri barely likes either of us, so that should be fun. Let's talk to her."

We got up and walked around the fire pit. Neytiri seemed to be trying to staying away from us, and averted her eyes when we

she saw us.

"Ma Neytiri," I said. I started speaking slowly, trying to formulate the sentence. "Krra nga kerar Jakeru, tsun nivume oe mengahu srak?"

"Pelun?" She asked with a fearful voice.

"Tse, Jake fpìl oe nivume nìltsan txo—wiya!" I gave up trying to ask in Na'vi. "Rutxe tsun pivlltxe nìÌnglìsi oe srak?" I groaned.

"Saaaa! Fine."

"As I was trying to say, Jake things that I could learn Na'vi better if I were to try at the beginning, with a fresh start."

She glared at Jake, then asked, "Menga oeru new srivätx srak?"

"Nooooo…" I said in an unconvincing voice.

"What'd she ask?" Jake whispered. I ignored him.

"Sooooo… can we do that?" I continued.

"Well, do you just want to study the language, or the rest of our culture?"

"Just the language. And if you want, I can help you with your English in return." I offered.

"Please," she scoffed. "I don't wish to act like… tsayvrrtep! I don't embrace their evil ways like you."

"Whatever. And thanks." I said with an annoying smile. I walked away, and went to my hammock. It was night time, and that meant sleep.


End file.
